It's A Merry Christmas, After All
by lilAzIaNpride24
Summary: Snippets of how the team spends their Christmas. (Takes place after "Humbug." ) [Densi, Neric, CallenxJoelle, Hanna Family]


**Hey guys! I'm back with yet another _NCIS:LA_ fic! The Christmas episode probably killed my inner fangirl. How awesome was that episode?! Props to the writers! Kensi and Deeks finally got together! YAY! **

**Does the trip back East make Neric official now? ;)**

**I can't wait for the next episode!**

**Without further ado, enjoy~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _NCIS:LA _nor any of the characters.**

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"To Cadet _Sergeant_, Aiden Hanna!" Sam raised his glass in honor of his son with a proud smile on his face as the rest of his family raised theirs. A parade of glass-on-glass sounded as they all clinked their glasses with one another. Aiden bent down to clink glasses with his baby sister and drank a sip of his water.

"Oh, Aiden!" Kamran squealed his name with glee as she ran to the family's Christmas tree in the living room and raced back into the dining room, producing a wrapped box complete with an elegantly knotted bow. "I know it's not Christmas yet, but I want you to open this now. Mom helped me pick it out." The smile on her face shone brightly and Aiden couldn't help but smile back.

"Alright, let's see what's inside." Slowly, Aiden unwrapped the box and opened his present. It was a mini wooden chest – excellently crafted and elegantly finished.

He lifted the latch and opened up the chest to find a single photo laying inside of his present. It was a picture of all of them, trying to get together for a photo at Disneyland. None of them were facing the camera, but instead were looking at each other laughing – typical Disney photo. Kamran wore a cute Minnie Mouse headband and her smile was bright as it was now. His parents looked at each other adoringly as he had his little sister on his shoulders, looking up at her as she looked down.

"It's perfect," he whispered.

After a brief few moments, his sister spoke again. "It's to keep all your photos and mementos. That picture is so that we'll always be with you when you're away from home." She took a beat and continued, "Do you like it?"

Aiden looked at his sister to find a hopeful expression on her face and nodded slowly. "It's amazing, Kammie. I love it!" Setting down the chest on the dinner table, he picked up his sister in a hug and spun her around. "Thank you!" He said as he playfully spun her around. Her squeals of laughter filled the dining room as the light from the Christmas tree in the living room shone brightly throughout the house.

_'This was indeed the best Christmas ever,'_ Sam thought as he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders.

**.**

**[]**

_And I'd give up forever to touch you  
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't wanna go home right now_

_And all I can taste is this moment_  
_And all I can breathe is your life_  
_When sooner or later it's over_  
_I just don't wanna miss you tonight_

_And I don't want the world to see me_  
_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_  
_When everything's made to be broken_  
_I just want you to know who I am_

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming_  
_Or the moment of truth in your lies_  
_When everything feels like the movies_  
_Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive_

_And I don't want the world to see me_  
_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_  
_When everything's made to be broken_  
_I just want you to know who I am_

**_"Iris" – The Goo Goo Dolls_**

**_[]_**

"How complicated?" Joelle asked curiously as he led her into the elegant restaurant.

Callen grinned, "Very." He pulled out a chair for her and graciously she sat down with a grin of her own.

A waiter came by with his note pad and asked for their order. He stopped with a hand on top of hers before she even had a chance to order. "Tell Paul that G. is here."

The waiter gave a slight nod before retreating off to follow Callen's orders.

"So, who's Paul?" There was a playfulness to her tone that made him even more grateful for Joelle giving him another chance. A chance at a normal life (or as normal as his could get); a chance for love; a chance for someone to know the _real_ him.

"He owes me a favor or two." A slight smirk danced its way across his face.

"So, you saved his life."

"Pretty much," Callen laughed.

An hour and a half later found the two of them laughing over Callen's terrible cooking skills as they enjoyed a rather delicious tasting menu with assorted wines.

The restaurant only held a few lingering couples, but it was unbeknownst to the pair as they enjoyed themselves in a private booth.

Joelle cut up a small slice of sirloin and slipped it in her mouth. It melted in her mouth. "This is heaven."

Callen smiled at her brevity and thanked whatever deity was looking upon him in that moment for letting Michelle entertaining the idea of setting him up with this amazing woman in front of him and for Sam's insistence on "going to dinner with them."

"What?" It seemed that he had been staring because Joelle had this curious look on her face.

Callen shook his head. "It's nothing. Just admiring your beauty."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Callen."

"On the contrary, it got me you." The sincerity in his voice changed the atmosphere drastically. Joelle gave a small smile as Callen cleared his throat and took a swig of the red wine in his glass.

"You know, you never actually told me what your first name is." Joelle asked as she continued sampling the Sirloin Steak with Roasted Vegetables with a Balsamic &amp; Rosemary Oil glaze.

Callen hesitated and pondered over digressing from the topic, but decided against it. He wanted Joelle to know the real him. "It's complicated, but," Callen reached out for her hands, "you have to promise me that you won't treat me any different if I tell you this."

Joelle placed her hands in his and promised.

Callen stared down at their hands and ran his thumbs over the back of her hands.

He let out a breath and started, "The whole story without going into specifics is this: I've been searching for what my first name is my whole entire life. My parents died when I was young – killed off by the Comescus. My family and their family had a blood rivalry thing going on. My team and I, we eliminated them because they threatened Henrieta Lange – she's like a second mother to me; she's in charge of the Office of Special Projects in NCIS. But it started with my grandfather. His name is George Callen. He killed many members of the Comescu family when he was an OSS agent stationed in Romania and they retaliated by killing my grandfather. My grandmother and my mother fled to America where she was recruited by the CIA. My father, he was a KGB Major that died around the time my mother came to America and he was arrested and sent off to a gulag. She went back to Romania and the Comescus found out and killed her while I was distracted by a toy soldier that one of them gave me."

It took him a moment to gather his thoughts again.

"Henrieta – Hetty – was my mother's handler at the CIA, but she was also a Comescu. But she protected me and my mother. She watched over me as I bounced from foster house to foster house. 37 of them," Callen let out a scoff and gave her a smirk and continued, "When I was 18, I enlisted in the Army and then joined the CIA. Then, I joined NCIS and I later, I was reassigned to the Office of Special Projects. And that's where I got curious about my first name and how all of this unraveled."

When he finished, Joelle didn't say anything, probably still recovering from shock.

"I had a sister. She was in the foster system too, but she died accidentally."

Joelle didn't say anything.

"There's more, but I don't think I should go into specific details right now."

Finally, Joelle recovered from her trance.

"Callen…"

"Jo, I know that all of this is a lot to take in and _a lot_ more than you bargained for, but this is the real me. You asked for it." Callen said with a shy smile.

Joelle squeezed his hands in comfort and nodded, "I did."

Callen let out a proverbial sigh. "Anything else you want to know?"

Without hesitation, she asked, "Favorite ice cream?"

"What? I tell you all this stuff about me and then you ask me what my favorite ice cream flavor is?" His voice was light and playful, but was meant to sound "shocked" and  
"incredulous."

She gave him a smile and took a bite of an asparagus. "What? Everybody has a favorite ice cream flavor."

Callen laughed at the innocent look she was giving him. "Chocolate."

"Better be." She wagged a finger at him. The mood turned light again and as they laughed, Callen couldn't help but think that this wasn't so bad. Letting someone see the real you wasn't so bad. He knew that there was more to explain about his past and more to divulge about himself, but he was just grateful that she hadn't treated him differently. Everybody had felt pity and sadness for him, but Joelle was different. She was special.

And he would never take her for granted.

As the night came to a close and they cuddled in her bed, he couldn't help but want his own possessions and a personal life and a family. He couldn't help but daydream about a future where he came home to her and he couldn't help but be grateful for the hole in his heart that she had filled. He was no longer surrounded by loneliness. His infamous "lone wolf" status was being shed.

Change was fast approaching and for once, Callen didn't seem to mind.

**.**

"Aren't you glad that I made you pack pants?" Nell smirked as she walked into her childhood room.

"Mildly so." Eric responded as he stretched out his legs for the fifth time in half an hour. He followed her into her room and moved toward his suitcase near her couch. "I have a present for you."

"What? You going to admit that those pants are actually comfortable and you're just being stubborn?"

"No, smart-mouth." Eric pulled the zipper of his suitcase to open and dug inside the inside flap for her present.

Nell felt bad that Eric had to crash on her tiny couch. There were no more guest rooms available and seeing that her family thought that he was her boyfriend, they found it fitting to stick Eric in her room.

"You know, it's going to be extremely uncomfortable on the couch. I can take the couch. You can take the bed. I've slept on that couch many a times." Nell offered.

Eric shook his head. "Nope. You take the bed." Nell was going to retort back, but Eric spoke before she could. "A-ha! There it is!"

Nell moved towards him in curiosity as he faced her, her present behind his back.

"Guess."

"No."

"Guess."

"Why?"

"Because it's more fun that way." Eric gave Nell a mischievous smirk.

She sighed and resigned, "Fine." Thinking Eric had lowered his guard, she reached for the contents behind his back, but he quickly slipped away from her without revealing what was behind his back.

"Wow, Ms. Jones. Such violence."

"Eric," she whined his name.

Persistence seemed to be a trait he picked up on the flight to Pennsylvania, "Guess."

This time, she actually resigned, "A pony."

Eric gave her an incredulous look.

"Chocolate."

"You're not even trying."

"But-"

"No buts, Nell. I want you to guess."

"I-I don't know. Mistletoe?" It had been a random and completely innocent guess, but the moment those words had slipped out from her mouth, she knew that she landed herself in an awkward position with Eric. Truth be told, she hoped that it was mistletoe.

"Uh-uh, um, no." He stammered. Finally, he produced the items from behind his back. "It's the-"

"You brought the movies!" In a sudden and rash move, she encased him in a fierce hug. "Thank you! This is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

"Uh, um, yeah, no problem. It was nothing." He had frozen for a second, but quickly regained himself as he let himself melt in her embrace.

But the rash hug had turned into something more. Emotions were threatening to break the surface and she slowly pulled away. Looking up at him, she apologized shyly, "Uh, sorry."

Eric shook his head. "Don't be sorry." The movies were long forgotten and strewn across the couch. Nell had apologized, but didn't make a move to pull away. Eric became captivated by his partner's hazel eyes.

"Uh-umm." Her voice was a low whisper and finally she broke their eye contact. She digressed towards a new topic as she picked up one of the movies on the couch. "S-so, I, um. I guess we should, uh, pop in the movie. Get some popcorn." She laughed hesitantly. "Yeah, so, I guess I'll just-"

Before she knew it, the movie fell from her hands and back to its place on her couch as Eric took her by her elbow, spun her towards him and crashed his lips on hers. It took her by surprise, but when reality sunk back in, she closed her eyes and started to kiss him back.

His hands cupped her face perfectly as she reached up behind his head to play with his dirty blond hair. The sexual tension from all the years of flirting finally caught up with them as he picked her up effortlessly and made his way over to her bed.

He fell onto the bed with her underneath him and he thought that things couldn't get any better. Then, he felt Nell's deft fingers started to unbutton his plaid button-up.

_Okay, maybe things could get better. Definitely, better. _

Finally, they parted for air. Her hands were still clasped on his shirt as a few buttons were undone and their foreheads rested against each other; their lips millimeters apart. Her hair was splayed across her pillows and her cheeks were tinted pink. Her lips were glistening and swollen after his ministrations. Her chest rose and fell faster than normal; her breaths coming in slow pants. All in all, she looked perfect.

"Instead of crashing on my couch, we could, ya' know," she undid one button and moved her fingers downward to another, "maybe share this bed."

A large smirk overtook Eric's face as he closed the small gap between then to kiss her again. It was less intense than the first, but filled with equal passion. His hand cupped her right cheek as hers moved down his shirt to finished unbuttoning it. Their bodies now flush against each other as individual articles of clothing came off, the final puzzle pieces of their flirtatious relationship were finally being put into the right places.

**.**

"This is perfect." Kensi stated as she moved cuddled up against her partner on the couch. She held a warm mug of hot chocolate in her hands as the crackling of the fireplace echoed throughout the dimly lit room. Monty lay curled up at the foot of the couch in a pleasant sleep. It seemed as if he was content that his parents had finally gotten together. She didn't have any complaints either.

Deeks' arms were wrapped around her middle as his legs stretched across the length of the couch. She sat between his legs with her back resting against his chest as her legs were parallel to his. His

"Mmm." He agreed into her hair.

Out in the distance, she could see the dunes of snow that made up the mountain side through the balcony window. Mammoth was indeed beautiful.

In the corner, an extremely well decorated Christmas tree stood proudly and for the first time in a long time, she didn't hate Christmas.

Kensi liked to think that she was unconventional and spontaneous, but she couldn't deny the cliché tale of their romance. When they first met in the Warriors' Gym, he had had this quality – which she couldn't quite name – about him that instantly attracted him to her. He was witty and charming – not that she would ever tell him that – but incredibly annoying and extremely frustrating. She did _not_ like him.

At first.

After that? She had started to fall for that special quality. His charm had slowly started to cast its spell on her. As did hers.

It had been four years after Jack left when they first met undercover. Her heart was still raw and battered, and her walls were built higher and thicker than ever, but he had managed to worm his way into her heart. Slowly, he started to fill all the holes that Jack had left and bandaged her heart back together. Things weren't always perfect between them, but they had all led up to this moment. They had led up to a time in both their lives where their communication skills had improved and where they had grown as individuals.

Now, on Christmas night, it marked the tenth anniversary since Jack had left her alone in that big, empty house. She had gotten closure – somewhat – and she could start her life again. With someone who understood her and knew her like no one else ever could. With someone who saw right through her lies and her façade. With someone as equally broken. With someone who she trusted wholeheartedly without any reservations.

She could finally start her life again with the man that she loved.

And in that moment, she knew that her heart was whole again. It had been because of Deeks that she had found the answers to everything that she had spent her whole life searching for. She hoped she could do the same for him because he deserved answers too.

Kensi knew that those answers would come sooner or later because together, they were bold. Together, they were strong. Together, they were invincible.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review on what you thought of it! (No hate please.)**

**Happy Holidays!**


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